the tablet version pdf - Southern Culture On the Fly

S.C.O.F issue no. 6winter 2013
southern culture
S.C.O.F
magazine
still free
seasonal SHAME spiral
Better Marriages through the Bahamas
Swamp Boy
Coal Creek Crazies
We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat
Bench Press
Gear Review
Stratergizing
and more...
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better marriages through
the bahamas
by david grossman
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the adventures of boudreaux
the swampboy
a scof graphic vignette
by david grossman and boudreaux
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110
artist profile: brad mcminn
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coal creek crazies
we’re gonna need a bigger boat
by joel dickey
by allen gillespie
photo: Louis Cahill
12 haiku
48 moving pictures
52 bench press
80stratergizing
106 fur and feather matinee
142gear
s.c.o.f
boner
issue no. 6
winter 2013
managing editor
co-publisher:
David Grossman
art director
co-publisher:
Steve Seinberg
contributors:
Louis Cahill
Ryan Dunne
Allen Gillespie
Scott Davis
Joel Dickey
Matt Millner
Blane Chocklett
Paul Puckett
Phil Savage
Nick Granoto
copy editor:
Lindsey Grossman
fly editor:
Thomas Harvey
general inquiries
and submissions:
info@southerncultureonthefly.com
advertising information:
info@southerncultureonthefly.com
southern culture
cover:
Steve Seinberg
www.southerncultureonthefly.com
all content and images © 2012 Southern Culture on the Fly
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From the Editor’s desk...
to your bathroom
Winter 2013
It’s said too often that winter angling is hardcore, but that’s not
really the case. I liken it more to a high functioning insanity. On
the surface we seem just like everybody else, but once shots at
the biggest fish of the year and uncrowded waters are dangled in
front of us…well let’s just say things get a little weird. The tenuous fabric of winter flyfishing is held together by crappy weather
reports, frozen things, and the insane. Nothing quite says “coocoo for Cocoa Puffs” like sacrificing your coffee to unstick a
frozen anchor rope, or peeing on it when you run out of coffee.
While none of us live in rubber rooms thinking we’re
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Napoleon and pooping ourselves on the hour to keep the
CIA away, we do willingly expose our extremities to hard cold
(someone had to unstick the anchor rope), break sheet ice to
fish a hole, and drive into the woods when everyone else is
just struggling to stay warm at home. On the other hand, people play golf during the winter, so let’s not pretend to be Navy
Seals. Winter fishing by no means qualifies you for the Mountain Dew Extreme Action Tour, but you do have to be just on the
crazy side of sane to participate. So if you seasonal guys are
out and about this winter, be warned; the inmates are now running the asylum.
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Haiku
.
with
kett
Paul Puc
Early morning lowtide
Friends are hungover losers
Shit, I need a boat
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Life Off the Chart
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Bette
By David Grossman
Photos: Steve Seinberg
Love and marriage,
Love and marriage .
Go together like a horse and carriage
This I’ll tell you brother,
You can’t have one without the other
- Frank Sinatra
Notice how the song doesn’t say, “fly fishing and marriage.”
No, unless you are one of the few fisherman that married your
fishing equal (we will now and in the future refer to these folks as assholes), it’s not very likely your spouse is too thrilled when you inform her
that the tarpon are in, some guy you met on the Internet but you know really well is picking you up, and you’ll be back in a week. I have not
once received a smile nor a pat on the back when I have told my lovely wife that a guide buddy had a cancellation on some far flung piece of
water that holds one of my life’s goals and all I have to do is pay gas and be gone for a few days. No, my friends, I generally (like the rest of you
poor married saps) am told that the mere idea of leaving would result in the natural transition to the idea of staying gone. So what is a fisherman
with a thirst for travel and a wife that has no desire to travel to another in a long line of truckstops on the way to the water to do? The Bahamas,
mon…the Bahamas.
The Bahamas. White sands, wadeable flats, endless conch joke
material, and fish that pull. Life for a married fisherman is good in
the Bahamas. A quick hop from anywhere in the South means you
can get in and out quick so the kids don’t forget who you are. A
million different islands to choose from (you may want to check my
math here, I was absent a lot for both math class and geography)
that the grey ghost calls home. There’s stuff for the old ball and
fish-hating chain to do while you’re on the water. And the best part
of all is you get to go fish all day, come back and have a civilized
meal with your loved one and get credit for taking her on vacation.
“Winner, winner, conch dinner” as far as I’m concerned.
Rules For the Road: Wifey’s Perspective
It’s not a romantic getaway. Eschew any aspirations you
may have in the way of candlelit dinners and long walks on
the beach. This is first and foremost a fishing trip and you
are along for the ride. The sooner you accept this, the less
disappointed you will be.
Don’t wish him luck. You may be tempted to do this as he
departs from the dock, but remember that fly fishing takes
great skill, which has taken him years (and a great deal of
your savings) to hone. If he catches a fish, it’s his piscatorial prowess, not divine intervention that put that permit on
his hook. Now if he returns with nothing, well that’s just bad
luck.
Get to know your bartender. You’ll be spending more time
with your mixologist than your lesser half, so you might as
well make nice and possibly get a few free drinks out of it.
After all, he’s the one who will keep you company and nurse
your beer buzz while you wait, and wait, and wait for your
husband to return for dinner. Let’s face it—you’ll probably
end up eating dinner at the bar. Only now you’ll have a dining companion.
Choose your own adventure. Just because you’re not
fishing, doesn’t mean this isn’t your trip, too. Whether
it’s stand-up paddleboarding, swimming with the sharks
or practicing il dolce far niente (the art of doing nothing),
you’ve got to make your own fun.
We chose Bimini for our little “marital bliss” fishing trip mainly because we got offered a ride on a floatplane. There’s nothing like
hurling towards the water at breakneck speeds in a plane the size
of a midsized SUV and walking away from the whole affair. Bonefishing in Bimini is kind of like that really hot step-sister your folks
kept locked away for fear of rampant impregnating.
Lose the silver lining. If your husband does indeed get
skunked, don’t try to make him feel better by pointing out
what a beautiful place it is. He doesn’t care about the palm
trees or the island’s culture and he certainly doesn’t feel
fortunate just to be there. He forked over hundreds of dollars to catch some fish and came back with nothing. Even
worse, his fishing buddy caught a record-breaking bonefish.
After the salt in his wounds, all he’s going to want is some
more salt for his tequila shots.
~Lindsey Grossman, aka “Wifey”
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photo: David Grossman
The blue water scene around
the island is on a much bigger
scale than most shallow water devotees can understand
let alone tolerate for extended
periods. But while the diesel
and machismo crowd is catching fish off the sweat of the
deckhands, Bimini’s world record-producing bonefish flats
wait empty and unmolested...
much like that step-sister. The
key to any good wife-along trip
is making sure Wifey is well
taken care of at the resort, so
you don’t have to harsh your
bonefish mellow with a lot of
complaining. In Bimini, this
means hanging out by the pool
of the Big Game Club, then
moving to the bar of the Big
Game Club, then moving to
the hammock of the Big Game
Club, and repeat for three
days. Once this has been accomplished you are free like a
newborn lion on the Serengeti
to stalk your prey.
Whether it’s Bimini, Nassau, Freeport, or if you can somehow talk her into Andros, there is no better place in the
world to take your non-fishing spouse on a fishing trip than
the islands of the Bahamas. Take your wife somewhere—
she deserves it. Plus, it buys you marriage credit for a solo
trip in the future.
photo: David Grossman
We would like to thank Tropic Ocean Airways, The Bimini Big Game Club, and
Capt. Skipper Gentry for accomplishing the impossible: making our wives happy
on a fishing trip.
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MOVING
PICTURES
Bent Rod Media
click here to begin the experience
getting out
COHUTTA FISHING COMPANY
Full service fly shop located in Cartersville, Georgia
photo: Steve Seinberg
Guided trips for trout and striped bass on the fly
Tackle, gear, luggage, and outerwear from companies such as :
Sage, Tibor, Simms, Patagonia, True Flies,
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Extensive line of flies for both freshwater, and saltwater
and a huge inventory of tying materials from companies such as :
Wapsi, Umpqua, Montana Fly, Hareline Dubbin, and Solitude.
39 SOUTH PUBLIC SQUARE . CARTERSVILLE, GA | 770 606 1100 | WWW.COHUTTAFISHINGCO.COM
bench press
Nick Granato
Shuck Norris
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Materials List:
Hook: Tiemco TMC #2457 Size 14
Bead: Tungsten Black Nickel 2.4 mm
Thread: UTC Ultra Thread 70 Wood Duck
Shuck: Rust Antron
Body: Fly Tyers Dungeon Baby Legs Alive Brown
Rib: UTC Ultra Wire SM Amber
Thorax: Hareline Ice Dub UV Light Yellow
Collar: Whiting Herbert Hen Cape Grizzly (Or Equivalent Soft Hackle)
Wing: Spirit River Crystal Flash Golden Olive
Wing Case: Montana Fly Skinny Skin Mottled Gold
I take my role as Editor-In-Chief, Executive Editor, Editor At Large, Senior Features
Editor, Associate Editor, Photography Editor, Creative Director, Art Director, Archivist,
Copy Editor, and Wake County Correspondent for the Fly Tying department of the Nation’s leading online fly fishing publication in the Southern market very, very seriously.
Could a peon without such hallmarks secure a talented Guest Tyer like Mr. Granato to
fill in while they attended to more pressing matters?
I don’t think so … You are welcome America, the next beer is on you.
Thomas Harvey
Fly Editor
Shuck Norris
1. Crimp your barb and slide on
a 2.4mm Black Nickel Tungsten
bead. Then, start your thread
midway down the hook shank.
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2. Cut and tie in a small shuck of
rust colored antron.
3. Tie in your body and ribbing
materials the full length of the
hook shank.
4. Wind your body up the shank
touching turns.
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5. Rib your body with amber UTC
Ultra Wire.
6. Tie in three pieces golden olive
Crystal Flash to form your wing.
9. Trim your Montana Fly Skinny
Skin in Mottled Gold to shape.
10. Tie in your wing case and
whip finish.
7. Tightly dub your thorax with
UV Light Yellow Ice Dub.
8. Create your collar using a
small grizzly soft hackle.
Based out of Salt Lake City, Utah, Nick Granato started fly fishing when he was 13
years old. Since beginning to take it seriously around 10 years ago, Nick has quietly
waded into position as one of the most respected, innovative fly tiers and fly fishermen
in the country. Nick is a Fly Designer for Rainy’s Flies & Supplies and a Pro Staffer for
Ross Worldwide Outdoors, Scientific Anglers, William Joseph, and Clear Cure Goo.
Follow his work at www.flyobsession.com.
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it’s time again...
3rd annual
Tie-One-On-Athon
The S.C.O.F
Sunday . February 24 12-6
. 2013
pm
All DAY
Fly Tying
Gear to win
Food and Beer
80 N. Lexington Ave, Suite C
Downtown Asheville
For more information or to sponsor this event
contact: southerncultureonthefly@gmail.com
the adventures of Boudreaux the swamp boy
By David Grossman and Boudreaux
Art: Steve Seinberg
the
boudreaux
my name and
is
y
o
b
p
m
a
w
s
the stink is
in
in
f
w
o
b
’
in
chas
my game.
They are eerie places, these southern swamps. I’m not sure whether it’s the morning fog, the spanish moss,
or just the “too peaceful/ too quiet” feeling that gets me uneasy- but something strange, almost ghostly is here. It’s
in the cypress knees, behind the palm fronds, and it’s definitely right below the waters surface.
Boudreaux
the bobber in the tree is like a big
‘ol sloppy joe when swamp Boy is
sniffin’ on the trail of a bahonkus
of a bowfin.
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Being the last in a long line of warrior swamp people, dating back to a group of bog
folk in wales, swamp boy chose the long rod for his quest. Any douchebag on youtube can dangle a mud minnow.
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If you don’t like snakes, gators,
and spiders then forget it, they run
the joint and are watching you
your entire visit. Inhospitable to
say the least. These are the places
to unburden the soul and flood the
mind...not fill your social media page
with hero shots of your latest bass.
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de the
I’m glad i ma
eb
world wide w
n
o
t
e
g
e
if
w
bowfin
ld’ve known
u
o
w
r
e
v
e
n
I
box.
ndness.
/realtree bli
w
o
ll
e
y
a
e
v
ha
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ain’t
no b
owfi
n, bu
eat..
t
.
it’ll
Swam
scho
pboy
says
stay
ol k
in
i
d
s
.
SOM
..An
E SLA
d PU
T
W ON
IT!!!
!!!!!!
!
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....to be continued
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Matt Millner
photos: Steve Seinberg
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N
Everyone loves to watch a big ole butter belly come out from his layer and grab a sixinch yellow chicken, or to cast a headlight caddis at a pod of gracefully rising rainbows. But in reality, when you are on the water
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well over 200 days a year that just doesn’t happen every day. Sure, nymphing may be the sluttiest form of fly fishing, but it works.
On Arkansas’s tailwaters, there are a few
bugs that anyone can go catch fish with almost anytime. We have healthy populations
of Sow bugs, scuds, caddis, Mayflies, and
Midges. So I pretty much nymph to separate ways. We will classify them into two
different categories: classy rigs and unintelligent rigs.
Unintelligent Rigs
These include generic stuff like the pink
worm to a soft hackle, or the egg to the
midge. I will often incorporate small leaches
or fry patterns into these rigs as well. I fish
them under an indicator so I move them
from the streamer class into unintelligent
nymping. I mean, if you rig up a small bugger in a size 14-16 hot green soft hackle,
you can’t fish it wrong. If you can’t mend
the line, who cares? The fish certainly don’t.
Usually those rigs come out in slightly higher flows. I like using the attractor pattern
as my point fly usually with split shot 12-14
inches above them, and pick a semi-generic
fly as my dropper. As much as you may not
want to admit it, everyone has pink worms
and eggs in their box, and when you are
in the business of catching fish those flies
come out a lot. 82
Classy Rigs
Now when I am trying to rig up a classy rig, it will depend on what lies beneath. I typically tie my Sow bugs
and scuds pretty heavy and use them as anchor flies.
Not only does it help eliminate the need for as much
split shot, it also helps keep my dropper fly suspended.
More often than not, I use some form of a soft hackle
as my dropper. I tie a soft hackle that we call the bi-wire
soft hackle, in various color combos.
One combo will be the winning ticket that day no matter
what time of the year. In spring and summer, you can’t
go wrong with chartreuse or hot yellow incorporated
into the mix. In the fall, you’ve got to have red or amber
in the combo.
“ You don’t have to tie in all of the assholes and elbows to fool a trout”
Dave Whitlock once said, “You don’t have to tie in all of the assholes and elbows to fool a trout.” I keep a few caddis patterns in my
box: The Holy Grail, the SLF caddis, a rock worm and a few generic cdc emergers. I keep one version of the Sow bug, just changing
the size and color. Tried and tested patterns work. Flies like the hare-n-copper, hare’s ears and pheasant tails work. Sometimes it’s best
to not try and reinvent the wheel.
walkER PaRRoTT
Matt Milner is a bearded genius when it comes to putting clients on the best fish
in Arkansas. You can book him through Jamie Rouse Fly Fishing Adventures, or
just yodle from the tallest knoll in Heber Springs.
bass
trout
FLY fishing guide in
western north carolina
and east tennessee
drift and wade trips
in public and private water
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contact - walker@davidsonflyfishing.com
LOWCOUNTRY FLY SHOP
280 WEST COLEMAN BLVD . SUITE E . CHARLESTON , SC 29464 . 843.388.5337 .
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photo: Steve Seinberg
a hip place for fly people
Trolling for marlin off Oahu, tuna fishing on the Grand Banks, commercial whaling.......
When you build an amazing skiff that is at home on everything from salt flats to rocky rivers, it’s just easier to list what it can’t do.
Prop, jet, push pole or oars - what will you do with your Towee?
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www.toweeboats.com
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Artist Profile
BRAD MCMINN
By David Grossman
Photos: Steve Seinberg
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“with passion you can’t fail“
MP3 Interview
BRAD MCMINN
I knew Brad McMinn’s art before I knew Brad
McMinn and I were basically neighbors in
Asheville. I can honestly say I have enjoyed
getting to know Brad as much if not more than
I originally enjoyed his art the first time I saw
it...which was a whole hell of a lot. His art reminds me of my favorite comic books, turning
the fish we chase into the otherworldy heroes
of the water they truly are. Whether it’s on a
t-shirt, a sticker, or his acrylic on wood paintings, Brad’s art depicts our passion with colors and form that redefine what up until now
has just been fish art. Plus he wears a size 15
shoe...best recognize.
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Bull Trout, 20112, 14x48 inches
Core #1, 2012, 12x48 inches
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new s.c.o.f design by brad mcminn
Find more of Brad’s artwork at southernwaterdesigns.com
Just don’t ask for any free shit...he’s kind of over it.
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$25
in the S.C.O.F store
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s.c.o.f
forum
REPRESENT . bitches
Fur and feather matinee
Blane Chocklett
Gummy Stone Fly
click here to begin the experience
we're gonna need a bigger boat
By Joel Dickey
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Although you might not want to admit it, anytime you step into warm saltwater, a thought
goes through your head. A thought that is buried deep, stemming from childhood fears. “Are there any sharks
around?” Admit it, we won’t tell. Even the Dalai Lama’s biggest fear is getting eaten by sharks (true fact, Google it).
Since humans have been recording weird little statistics, there have been 5,265 recorded shark attacks. More than
2,500 have resulted in serious injury and 1,340 more have ended worse. My point is, there’s no doubt who’s on top of
the food chain in the ocean. Yet, most fly fisherman continue to disrespect this great fish.
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Where has the testosterone gone, people? The
adrenaline rush of going toe-to-toe with what
most people fear? The
primitive instinct of hunting down what hunts
you? Make no mistake, these
fish are at the top of the
food chain in the ocean
for a reason. First off,
let’s talk about the couple
hundred million years
of evolution. They have
changed very little other
than size. What does this
mean? It means God got
it right the first time. Sharks are a guide’s best
friend when the day on
the water turns tough or
the weather is less than
perfect for tarpon, bonefish or permit. Landing
a shark is way more fun
than sitting in the motel.
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The power of these fish is rarely
matched by anything else that
swims, so when you hook one, get
ready for a battle. Most times an
11- and 12-weight rod is needed
to land these fish, and even with
the big sticks, you’re looking at
half-hour battles, sometimes much
longer depending on the size and
species. Some species will even
take to the air. Makos and spinner sharks are best known for their
acrobatic displays. The best part
of it all is that you can find most
species in gin clear, shallow waters where you’d find bonefish. So,
yes, just like bonefish, permit and
tarpon, you can sight fish for them.
Just like the big three, you have to
make very accurate casts just to
get them to even sniff the fly and in
a lot of cases, you must cast even
more accurately because they are
lacking in eyesight. What they lack
in vision, they more than make up
for with their sense of smell. The
sensors in their nose can actually pick up electrical pulses in the
hearts of other fish.
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Fly fisherman spend countless hours and millions of
dollars every year on travel,
rods, reels, flies and other
gear to curb our passion
for catching hundreds of
different species of fish
worldwide. A fraction of a
fraction of that is spent on
actually targeting sharks. So
the question remains: Why
don’t people find sharks as
desirable to catch as other
fish? They eat what we consider superior game fish for
breakfast. Literally. FOLLOW US on Facebook
stay up to date with S.C.O.F between issues
and a new photo everyday
(almost)
Captain Joel Dickey
Introducing the new LTM 16 skiff the “Shallow Water Assasin”. Plug and
play for the rivers, lakes, and marshes of the South.
FLOAT AND BE HAPPY
1712 13th St. Steamboat Springs
P (970) 870-1660
hogislandboatworks.com
Guided Flats Fishing in the Florida Keys
captsilverking@aol.com
305.619.7769
Coal Creek Crazies
By Allen Gillespie
Photos: Phil Savage
“The dam is bare, and immobile, and lonely, just standing there.
Norris Dam is what it should be: finished, unromantic and working.”
Ernie Pyle
A TWRA officer once confided in me that the devil dances in the gravel lot at Peach
Orchard Access after dark on summer nights. This time of year don’t nobody dance along the banks of the
Clinch River except for a few hardheaded fools chasing imagined glory dredged from the swift currents belched from the belly of Norris Dam.
It’s not that our Southern Appalachian winters are overly harsh, they’re not. It’s just that the same humidity, which thrills the devil in July remains long after the kudzu has been rolled up to reveal all of East Tennessee’s warts and scars, and it chills you to the bones on the short January days that descend upon us like an epidemic. What’s worse, the hills surrounding the Clinch River valley in Anderson County reach skyward and grab any eastern bound weather front and wring it of its contents making humidity a bona fide fact in the form of precipitation, which
lingers for months on end.
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A scant six miles
upstream from the
devil’s dance floor
at the Peach Orchard ramp, Norris Dam sits in silent occupation; a
coldwater factory
built on the back
of President Roosevelt’s New Deal.
The first project of
TVA, construction
on Norris Dam began in October of
1933 and was completed some 886 days later as concrete evidence of Weber’s central tenant. Norris’ linear façade sits in stark contrast to the natural
lines of the surrounding hills. Its speckled
and streaked surface now resemble the belly of a shoat hog laid out in an early spring
sun. Trapped behind the concrete is a
catchment area of 2,912 square miles with
a capacity of over 2,552,000 acre-ft. Some
3,000-odd souls were displaced by the rising waters, which covered one of the most
fertile valleys in the area, a fact which still
finds its way into our conversation nearly
100 years later. At 265 feet high, Norris is
not the tallest of the regions’ many dams,
but it is sufficiently deep to churn out a conveyor belt of oxygen-infused water, which is
chilled year-round to a near constant 50 degrees by the darkness
lurking at the bottom of Norris lake.
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photo: Louis Cahill
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I grew up fishing the Clinch and have
seen it in every season and color. Perhaps due to this intimacy I have always
viewed the Clinch as the most manufactured of TVA’s Southern tailwater
fisheries. At low flows, the Clinch consists of ten miles of pools interspersed
by perpendicular monolithic shoals. It
is nearly devoid of any resemblance to
the freestone rivers one typically associates with prime trout waters, and as
such can test the abilities of even the
most seasoned angler. It may also be
the most productive water you’ve ever
fished, depending on the day, and that’s
what keeps you returning for more. If
the Clinch had a more constant flow it
would arguably be the best tailwater
fishery in the country. Unfortunately for
us tortured souls, TVA isn’t in the business of growing fish and the river ebbs
and flows with the vagaries of the valley’s power demands. While bucolic in
nature when off, at full pull, with both
turbines turning, the steady relentlessness of the flow belies its industrial origin. And at 8,350 cubic feet per second,
it’s a fool’s game to even attempt to
chase trout, particularly with a fly rod.
133
Fools and optimists still abound in East Tennessee. On cold, dreary January days they make their ways to the edge of the Clinch in twos
and threes, emerging from trucks with hippopotamus-colored bags slung over shoulders and overflowing with monumental yellow boxes
and bottles of bonded whiskey. Tin sleds are loaded in the muffled silence of the swollen river and a routine set about in order to pay
penance for the sins lying in the darkness upstream. On most days even well placed offerings go unnoticed and so the whiskey serves as
a condolence, and to ease tired shoulders and sore elbows. Every so often, however, golden absolution is ripped from the slipstream and
the river becomes whole again in the exuberance of the moment.
23 BUTLER AVENUE • GREENVILLE, SC 29601 • 864.233.0551
Authorized Dealer for Echo, G.Loomis, Hardy, Nautilus, R.L.Winston, Ross, Scientific Anglers, Scott, Simms & TFO
other photos courtesy of the Library of Congress
We carry a complete line of fly tying tools and materials.
S.C.O.F store
gear review
FLYLINE: pro picks for every situation
142
Why would you spend a lot
of money on a new rod and
reel for your trip and then put
a line on the rig that makes
that $600.00 outfit throw like a
$40.00 Wal-Mart special. We’ve
asked a bunch of our friends
to give us their favorite lines
“no matter what species you’re
chasing, wherever you happen
to be chasing them.” Now line
up...and give us twenty.
143
Name: Blane Chocklett -VA
Job:Guide at New Angle Fishing Company
Species:
Musky / Smallmouth Bass
Line:
Rio OUTBOUND Short Intermediate
Line:
Rio Outbound short Floating
“The great thing about the Outbound short line is it does everything I
ask it to do. Loads the rod quickly, carries big flies long distances, and
makes it easy for my clients to pick line off the water with one false
cast and shoot the fly to the target.”
144
Name: Jamie Rouse - AR
Job:Fish Wrangler
Species:
Trout and delicious Bass
Line:
Orvis hydros 3d wf and hydros 3d depth charge
“I dig that series. They have the tapers spot on, and the light texture
makes ‘em hum through the guides!”
145
Name: Scott Davis - SC
Job:Owner of a flyshop in the low country
called Lowcountry Flyshop
Species:
Redfish
Line:
Rio Redfish
“The perfect marriage of head shape and length needed to turn over
heavier crabs and for the all-to-often short shot. Many reds pop up
20’ from the skiff and the RIO lines will fire a shot out with a hellbent
quickness! I especially like the fact that this year the color changes
when the running line starts, hopefully eliminating the unnecessary
false casting I have to witness. It weighs in on the upper limits of the
line grain scale so no need to over-line on a fast action rod.”
Name: Joel Dickey - FL
Job:Full time flats guide Big Pine Key
Species:Tarpon
Line:
Scientific Anglers mastery series saltwater
taper textured.. In 10-12 wt ( depending on size of tarpon)
“For general all around under normal circumstance this is a great
general purpose line. This line also matches up well with my Tomas
and Thomas rods and the taper is not too aggressive yet aggressive
enough to shoot very well. You don’t have to stretch this line much.
Comes out of the box nice and straight with no coils and I have had
very little trouble with twisting and coiling.”
146
147
“The best line for sight fishing to large smallmouth on big water rivers here in the Southeast period.”
Line:
Scientific Angler: Kelly Galloup Streamer Express
“A laser beam would not travel as far as accurately nor carry as big
a pay load as this WMD fly line.”
148
828.446.5552
guided float and wade trips in
North Carolina and E.Tennessee
Name: Allen Gillespie - TN
Job:Head Cat Herder at 3 Rivers Angler
Species:
Smallmouth Bass / Carp
Line:
Rio Striper intermediate 7 weight
149
HAPPY NEW YEAR
2013
thanks to all our contributors, readers, and sponsors
for a great year...
we are ready for another
150
151
152
photo: Steve Seinberg
april 2013spring issue no. 7
153
(putting english majors to work)
made in asheville, nc | S.C.O.F issue no. 6 | winter 2013